The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 244
Portrait of M. R. Elden (2)
Date
Portrait of M. R. Elden (2) probably dates from 1882. 1 It is dated from Whistler's known association with Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885).
According to the Pennells, it was a small version of the Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243 (which has not been located) and was submitted to the London Whistler Memorial Exhibition of 1905, but rejected. 2
Images
Portrait of M. R. Elden (2), Whereabouts unknown
Portrait of M. R. Eldon (3), Private Collection
Subject
Titles
The 1980 title gave the sitter's name incorrectly:
- 'Portrait of H. R. Eldon (2)' [sic] (1980, YMSM). 3
'Portrait of M. R. Elden (2)' is the preferred title.
Description
According to the Pennells, this painting was a small version of Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243. 4 It was, they said, 'a small half length ... it may be a copy.' 5 Since the original portrait is missing it is impossible to tell what it really looked like.
Sitter
The artist Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885) was a close friend and frequent visitor to Whistler's studio from about 1876 until he went mad, dying in an asylum.
Portrait of M. R. Eldon (3), Private Collection
Whistler painted three portraits of him, Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243, Portrait of H. R. Eldon (2) y244, and Portrait of H. R. Eldon (3) y245, which is the only one extant.
His name, incorrectly spelled as 'Eldon' in earlier publications, was corrected to 'Elden' in the online Whistler Correspondence edition in 2003.
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
- Unknown.
According to the Pennells, it was submitted to the London Whistler Memorial Exhibition of 1905, but rejected. 6 Then, in 1911 the Pennells stated that 'a small half length ... is now in New York.' 7 Nothing further is known about it.
Exhibitions
- Unknown.
According to the Pennells, this painting, a small version of Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243, was sent to the Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905, but not hung. 8
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 244) as 'Portrait of M. R. Elden (2)'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, p. 303.
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 5th (revised) edition, London and Philadelphia, 1911, p. 211.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- None.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 244).
2: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303.
3: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 244).
4: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303.
5: Pennell 1911 A [more], p. 211.
6: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303.
7: Pennell 1911 A [more], p. 211.
8: Pennell 1908, op. cit., p. 303.